‘Old Bones in Puglia’ by Tom Benjamin

Published by Constable,
14 May 2026.
ISBN 978-1-4087-2418-7 (PB)

English born Daniel Leister and his father-in-law, Giovanni Fraidate, head of the Bologna-based family firm of private investigators, travel to the wilds of Puglia for an Easter break. Their destination is the remote town where Daniel’s late wife’s family originated. Giovanni, called even by his family, the Comandante, has requested the trip to visit the dying sister of his late wife who is in hospital in the town. Daniel’s daughter also accompanies them to the hospital and Daniel is struck by the resemblance between Rose and her great aunt. Both are pale skinned with striking red hair in contrast to the rest of the region’s occupants. 

They visit the Palaeolithic Museum and discover that artifacts are going missing and replaced by clever forgeries. The value of the stolen pottery lies not in its monetary value but in its historical origins. The pieces date back to an ancient tribe who inhabited this remote area in pre-Roman times. The original objects could only have been stolen by someone working in the museum. The elderly Professor Malaparte in charge of the museum is keen to buy back the originals and requests the Comandante and Daniel’s help in trying to identify the thief and trace the missing historical treasures. 

Their investigation leads them to a local art teacher, an expert craftsman still using the same clay and traditional techniques, but before they can question him, the man goes missing. Before long, Daniel and the Comandante are drawn into a confusing world of feuding mafia families, revenge, kidnap and murder where no one can be trusted. 

As in all the books in the Daniel Leicester series, ‘Old Bones in Puglia,’ has a complex plot that weaves to a fast and furious finale that keeps the reader turning the page. As always, the characters are well drawn, and this book reveals far more about the Comandante who served as a military police officer in the town many years ago and is forced to face the demons of his past. Tom Benjamin’s greatest skill as a writer is his ability to create an immersive setting. This is a community steeped in the past, where witchcraft, mysticism and superstition are never far from the surface. Even the preparations for Holy Week create an eerie sense of unease and foreboding. 

Although this is the seventh book in this excellent series, it can be read as a standalone.  
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Reviewer: Judith Cranswick

Tom Benjamin started off as a reporter covering crime in North London. After a stint on the nationals, he joined Scotland Yard as one of its famous spokesmen. He went on to pursue a career in international aid before emigrating to Italy, where he credits his language skills on the time he spent working as a bouncer on the door of a homeless canteen. A Quiet Death in Italy, the first in a series featuring Bologna-based gumshoe Daniel Leicester, was published in ebook by Little, Brown in November 2019, and in paperback in May 2020. Book Two in the series, The Hunting Season, will be published in November 2020. 

Judith Cranswick was born and brought up in Norwich. Apart from writing, Judith’s great passions are travel and history. Both have influenced her two series of mystery novels. Tour Manager, Fiona Mason takes coach parties throughout Europe, and historian Aunt Jessica is the guest lecturer accompanying tour groups visiting more exotic destinations aided by her nephew Harry. Her published novels also include several award-winning standalone psychological thrillers. She wrote her first novel (now languishing in the back of a drawer somewhere) when her two children were toddlers, but there was little time for writing when she returned to her teaching career. Now retired, she is able to indulge her love of writing and has begun a life of crime! ‘Writers are told to write what they know about, but I can assure you, I've never committed a murder. I'm an ex-convent school headmistress for goodness sake!’ 

www.judithcranswick.co.uk 

‘See Them Run’ by Marion Todd.

Published by Canelo Crime,
23 July 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-78863818-0 (PB)

‘The Bride and Groom would you lead the way’. Couples began streaming onto the dance floor.

 Andy’s phone began to buzz ‘Hey like the kilt’
Andy didn’t know who it was ringing him. He replies ‘Glad you like it.

He watched his wife Angela as she rose unsteadily from her seat to join the dancers.

So, R U A Real Scotsman, what’s under the kilt?
Andy felt a familiar stirring.

The banter went on and Andy stepped out into the cold of the evening and made his way down the hotel drive. As the hotel disappeared from view Andy picked out the headlights of a car. He lifted his kilt. The car revved and then lurched forward and speeded up. 

DI Clare Mackay received the call from the hotel. She had recently moved from Glasgow to St Andrews, and it currently felt a lonely place to be. The incident was a hit-and-run.  The car hadn’t just hit him the killer had been determined to kill. Having hit the man then reversed over him. And left a card on his chest bearing the number 5. Francine the bridesmaid, said that Andy was probably outside to meet another woman as he was in the habit of having affairs. 

The following night another victim is struck down and a number '4' card is left at the scene. Clare and her team realise they're against a killer stalking the streets of the picturesque Scottish town, bent on carrying out three more murders, no 3,2 and 1. 

Andy’s wife Angela admits to Clare that she and Andy had a marriage of convenience, and there is little she can tell the police of what Andy does or how he spends his time.  The only regular things he did was to go out to a club with the lads every Thursday.  

To solve the case Clare knows that she must face her own past and discover the deepest secrets of the victims and the killer, before there are a further three murders. 

Cleverly plotted this is a real page turner. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Marion Todd is a native of Dundee. She studied music and worked for many years as a piano teacher and accompanist. Early writing success saw her winning first prize in the Family Circle magazine short story for children national competition and subsequently writing for her local newspaper. Now a full-time writer, Marion lives in north east Fife, overlooking the River Tay. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘Six Mile Store’ by A.M. Belsey

Published by Deixis Press,
17 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-91709012-4 (PB)

The Six Mile Store is old and grubby and positioned in the middle of nowhere. It provides basics for the local residents, but also its gas pumps are in a perfect position for those travelling long distances to Minnesota or North Carolina, so travellers pause there to refuel. As a small child Honey had been fascinated by the store and its contents, now as a teenager she works at the store at weekends during term-time and more frequently during the holidays.  

The story opens in July when Honey is working at the store to help out the owner who is ill, she works alongside another young woman, Sammy Legs, and they are both surprised when the owner employs, Lisa, a middle-aged acquaintance to work alongside them. Soon Honey is confiding in Lisa, whom she admires because of her dedication to her daughter. She also feels slightly envious of the effort that Lisa puts into facilitating opportunities for her little girl. Honey’s parents have never bothered about her, independence was forced on her at a young age, and her relationship with them has broken down. Sometimes Honey regrets this and wishes that her mother would show some interest in her achievements and plans for the future, but she knows there is no way to break through their habitual indifference and has given up even trying to phone them when she has important news. 

At the start of the book, Honey has just got a place to do a Masters degree in English Literature at a nearby Baptist college, and she is excited because, instead of having to pay, she can study for free and will be given a room on campus, and will even be paid a small amount if she takes some classes and does some tutoring. 

The regular local customers at the Six Mile Store are a mixture of quietly desperate people, just scraping a living, and most of their lives are confused and out of control. It is a community riddled with drug use and loneliness. Despite her desire to get academic qualifications to secure her future and move on, Honey is also confused and there is the continual threat that she will lose control of her life, and it will spiral into free fall. There are many people who are making Honey’s life difficult, especially the predatory cop who keeps turning up at the store, and her hypocritical college supervisor who keeps finding fault. The best thing in Honey’s life is her relationship with her Turkish boyfriend, Karim, but she knows that he is due to return to Turkey in September. In the community that surrounds the Six Mile Store there is a hardly recognised tension and the ever-present fear that the underlying violence will break through. 

The Six Mile Store is a novella that describes the realities of life in an isolated American community. Most of the book is narrated in the First Person by Honey, who is an engaging protagonist, young and naïve but basically kind, as she struggles to improve her life despite poverty and family indifference. However, part of the narrative is in a different viewpoint, which takes the story in a different and unexpected direction. This is a fast-moving short read, which will be enjoyed by readers who like hard hitting stories that mirror the grim realities of life for people living on the edge of survival.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron 

A. M. Belsey was born in Arkansas but moved to the United Kingdom at age 21. She has never looked back. Her debut crime novella – Six Mile Store – hits the shelves. But it didn’t start out as a crime story and AM Belsey didn’t set out to be a crime author. That’s just where the characters and story led. 

Carol Westron is a Golden Age expert who has written many articles on the subject and given papers at several conferences. She is the author of several series: contemporary detective stories and police procedurals, comedy crime and Victorian Murder Mysteries. Her most recent publications are Paddling in the Dead Sea and Delivering Lazarus, books 2 and 3 of the Galmouth Mysteries, the series which began with The Fragility of Poppies.  

www.carolwestron.com

‘How to Cheat Your Own Death’ by Kristen Perrin

Published by Quercus Books,
28 April 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-529440567-1 (HB)

Two separate murders half a century apart. The same modus operandi. Both victims, Vera and Felicity, were artists. Both had connections with the village of Castle Knoll. Coincidence? The police think so, but they are not in possession of all the facts. Annie Adams, heiress, would-be crime fiction author and amateur sleuth, is in possession of a few more.

 When her mother, an artist like both victims, keeps finding animal hearts on the doorstep of her Chelsea home, coincidence flies out of the window. Annie has several advantages over the police. To her the first murder is more than a 50-year-old cold case. Vera was a friend of her late great-aunt Frances whose journals she inherited along with two dilapidated houses and a fortune. The journals tell her a great deal about what happened back in the Swinging Sixties. Also, Felicity has had recently become her mother's apprentice, so Annie has a vested interest in both murder cases. What's more, she has an ally in Detective Rowan Crane, who has already helped her solve two murders although is not involved in investigating Felicity’s. 

The story unfolds in two separate but curiously similar timeframes. Annie’s tale starts out as a search for the mysterious dumper of bloody hearts on her mother's doorstep and soon begins to stray into Felicity's death and thence into Vera's. Great-aunt Frances knew nothing of Felicity, of course, so extracts from her journal focus wholly on her friendship with Vera and the circumstances and people surrounding Vera's death. 

As links between the cases proliferate, it's down to Annie and Crane to join the dots, work out who they can trust and who's lying, and ultimately solve not only both murders but also various other crimes in both time frames.

Confused yet? Yes, so was I for a while, especially when characters from one timeline kept popping up in the other. Parallels keep emerging too, not least between the characters. Annie and Frances have plenty in common: both are feisty and determined, and more likely to walk towards danger than flee from it; they each have a male partner-in-crime who wants to protect them, which means romance is on the cards both now and fifty years ago. There are other parallels too. Annie learns early on that her eccentric mother is lying to her; Frances discovers that flamboyant Vera has been branded a pathological liar by her abusive husband. 

But all becomes clear long before the dramatic denouement. Kristen Perrin certainly knows how to keep her readers on their toes, and sometimes on the edge of their seats. This is no ordinary murder mystery – but then which of us is satisfied with an ordinary one? Not me, and not true lovers of the genre.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick 

Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before moving to the UK to do a master's and a PhD. She lives with her family in Surry, where she can be found poking around vintage bookstores, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants. She has written three books. 

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.

 

Written in Blood by Peter Tickler

Trials and tribulations of a crime writer - Cornish Crime.  

At the time of writing, I have just spoken at the Bude Literary Festival.  It’s a long old drive from Oxfordshire, and so (of course) I decided I could only manage the stress and strain by taking a week’s holiday while I was about it. Who said marketing wasn’t tough? But I managed. I was interviewed in the Bude library and had a very enthusiastic audience. Of course, setting a crime story in a real place has its problems, notably getting the geography and other details right, so I had taken opportunity to get someone who lived in Bude to check the manuscript out before I gave it to the editor. It was just as well I did, because she found one glaring error where my protagonist Doug Mullen and his partner Becca Baines turned left rather than right. How was that possible, when my wife and I have have spent several happy holidays in the area and know the town very well?  It all came down to me changing Doug’s holiday house in Bude from one street to another – from Breakwater Road to Lynstone Road if you must know!

But does that sort of error matter? To someone who doesn’t know Bude, maybe not. But to locals – and indeed holiday makers who regularly come to Bude – of course it does. If one detail is wrong, they ask themselves, what other details has Tickler got wrong? Can he be trusted? Other thoughts may enter their heads. What is this Tickler chap doing, writing about our town when he lives miles away? Why don’t ‘e stick to Auxford. These would all be fair questions. As a farmer’s son who left the farming world to study and then live in in Oxford, I am conscious of the parochialism one can encounter. I returned to Lincolnshire for a party, and when I tried to talk to one of my brother’s friends, I was dismissed by him a townie: ‘what would you know about it?’ But being a townie or an outsider does give me a different perspective on communities. I am able to tune into Doug’s feelings as he finds himself in a world where he is an outsider investigating a murder that most of the locals would prefer to forget. He is viewed with deep suspicion by those from whom he might expect support, even by the dead girl’s mother. Of course, I am writing fiction. There is a dark truth which Doug needs to uncover in Bude. But I can assure you that everyone I have encountered on this trip to Bude has been most welcoming. I hope that won’t change when they have read the book! 

If you are ever visiting Bude, do call into the Spencer Thorn bookshop for a copy of

Death in the Sea Pool.

https://www.petertickler.co.uk

Twitter: @ptickler

Crime Writers’ Association: Northern Symposium

Buxton 11 April 2026.

After a short welcome from  Jason Monaghan, Dea Parkin introduced us to

Tim Grant who is a distinguished academic and consultant at Aston University. He has extensive experience in forensic analysis. In his talk he explained that his research interests also extend to the linguistics of police interviews, and the analysis of threatening communication and the pragmatics of non-verbal consent in rape cases.  In his talk he cited the cases of Derek Bentley, Timothy Evans, the Birmingham six, and Reg Christie who committed 8 murders. 

Kath Robinson, a former scientific Support Manger for the Lancashire constabulary followed with a talk on her experience in research and clinical Monitoring.

I didn't hear much of her talk, as you will see from the photograph far left that for most of the time she held her microphone down by her thigh's. Only occasionally did she speak into it and consequently I missed most of her talk.

 We then enjoyed a pleasant buffet lunch

The highlight of the day was the talk given by Simon Dinsdale.

Simon was born in Canada and raised in Reading in Berkshire. He served twelve years with the British army before joining Essex police in 1980.

He spent 30 years in the police eventually achieving the rank of Detective
Superintendent. Over his career he led over a hundred major investigations.

 He took us to October 2006 and
The Ipswich Murders when five sex workers were killed. Between October and December 2006, Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls were all murdered by Steve Wright, a 48 year old forklift truck driver.

 Since retiring in 2010, Simon has turned to writing, drawing on his extensive knowledge of police procedures forensics and investigative techniques to create gripping narratives He has now produced five books featuring Detective Superintendent Christian Dane and his assistant Detective Constable Hayley Cross.  I have already purchased all the books in the series. They are a terrific read. 

Emma Grundy Haigh is editorial director at Boldwood Books.

She talked about: 
Shaping your book proposal to current trends in publishing.

 

After a break for tea and coffee

Andrea Zuvich of Orland Media spoke on:
How to create an audiobook.

 Thanks to Dea and Jason for organizing this interesting event.
The hotel is gorgeous, and the meal at the St Moritz was great. 

Vaseem at Hay Festival

Whilst at the Hay Festival recently I was invited on to a live episode of BBC Front Row together with Val McDermid, Jack Thorne (creator of Adolescence) and Welsh national poet Hanan Issa, all expertly marshalled by presenter Samira Ahmed.
 I spoke about Quantum Of Menace and may have mentioned
Sean Connery's nether regions.
You can listen in here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002wsz3 

Bloody Scotland's 2026 Programme is LIVE!

 
2026 Line Up is Finally Revealed...

Bloody Scotland's 2026 Programme is now officially live and all tickets are on sale! The festival, which takes place across Stirling from Friday the 18th to Sunday the 20th of September, features the great and the good of the crime fiction world including: Richard Osman, Liz Nugent, Sarah Pinborough, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Steve Cavanagh, Nadine Matheson, Gregg Hurwiz, Robert Bryndza China’s bestselling crime writer, Cai Jun, bestselling Irish crime writer, Andrea Mara and broadcasters Robert Peston, Olly Smith, Jeremy Vine and an appearance from the cast of the criminally good Netflix crime drama, Department Q.

Our brilliant Guest programmer, Denise Mina, has revealed her full list of special guests including Irish comedian and actor, Ardal O’Hanlon, Australian idol Jane Harper, Jane Casey, Lucy Foley, Tana French and S A Cosby.

If Bloody Scotland 2026 is even half as much fun as I had helping to put this festival together then it’s going to be bloody brilliant. See you there!’

This year, there will also be some fascinating non-fiction events including: Where does free speech end and extremism begin? with Professor Lara Frumkin, How to Clean a Crime Scene with Ben Giles, How to Pitch Your Book with Sheila M Averbuch and A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders with Professor David Wilson.

It wouldn't be Bloody Scotland without a few fun fringe events and this year is no exception. We'll be bringing you a Royal Stirling-themed procession led by Denise Mina, our Saturday night game show, Eight Out Of Ten Crime Writers Do Countdown, an interactive murder mystery experience led by New York Times bestselling author, Antony Johnston, a literary take on Desert Island Discs with Desert Island Crooks, a screening of the film The Maltese Falcon introduced by the author’s granddaughter, a play You the Jury starring real-life lawyers and forensic experts in Stirling Sheriff Court,the ever popular True Crime Walking Tour and our annual cabaret night, Karaoke at the Coo.

For the first time the festival includes a partnership with Helsinki Noir, welcoming Finnish authors to Stirling this year and sending Scottish authors to Helsinki for a 'Bloody Scotland' panel in 2027.

We hope that’s enough to whet your appetite! Grab your tickets now and see you in September.

Bloody Scotland | International Crime Writing Festival 

You Cannot Change History

Reading The Times today I came across an article by Lee Child condemning cuts to old novels, and preventing future readers from understanding previous eras. I am in total agreement with him. 

I recall my first reading of The Man in the Queue, by Josephine Tey, published in 1929. Yes much of the dialogue would not be acceptable today but it was of it's time and trying to update it to 2026 would be wrong. 

I  was 11 years old when I first read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.  My parents had several bookcases filled with books and I was able to read, and read and read. The killing was a real shock.  Something I had not expected

The joy of the book is that you are taken into a different time period.

And thus we learn.

I actually learnt more about history reading crime fiction than from history books. The English civil war meant little to me at 12 years old in 1955.  But then I read The King's General by Daphne Du Maurier and I was hooked and couldn't get enough of reading about The English Civil war.

Likewise I read The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey and learnt about the Princes in the Tower, murdered by Henry V11. OK maybe he didn't do it himself but he certainly arranged it. as while the Princes were alive and stood in his way he could not ascend to the throne,  Read it for yourself. 

Dickens, Thackeray, Priestley, Nevil Shute, and of course the wonderful Agatha Christie. I worked my way through my parents books until I had devoured them all. They were of their time and they were wonderful, and I learnt much. Leave them as they are for future generations to understand the enlightenment reached by learning.

Lizzie

St Hilda’s 33rd Crime Fiction Weekend

 

4-6 September 2026.

The theme of the programme this year is
'Bad Apples'

The Guest of Honour is
Andrew Taylor

 Andrew is the winner of the

CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger.

He has published over 45 books. 
His latest novel is A Schooling in Murder.

Authors Taking Part 
Jo Callagham
Jo Chowdhury
Natasha Cooper
Abigail Dean
Vaseem Khan
Remi Kone
Philip Gooden
Simon Mason
Hallie Rubenhold
Laura Shepherd Robinson
Sarah Vaughan
Martyn Waites

Committee Members: Sarah Hilary, Jean Buchanan and Mick Herron